Just One Possibility
by TGGDSD
Summary: Dipper and Mabel are back for the Summer, and as usual: weirdness ensues. After a hard breakup, Dipper is comforted by his friends and enjoys some time with the likes of Wendy and Pacifica. While he is on the mend, temporal anomalies appear when future characters travel back in time to secure potential realities.
1. Time for Summer

As the warm sun of the early June crept over the horizon, its soft rays touched the nose of Dipper Pines, rousing him from his slumber. With a long yawn, he rubbed his eyes, stretched his limbs, and gazed out of the bus window. Tall pine trees surrounded the road on either side, and the very sight brought a wide grin to Dipper's face.

"Mabel, hey Mabes," the young man shook his sister, who lay unceremoniously across the back row of seats, a magazine over her eyes and her mouth wide open showing a trail of drool that had snuck out some hours earlier.

"Buh, mmm, huh," the twin mumbled as she left her dreams. While the brunette got herself together for the day, Dipper made his way for the front of the vehicle. In all their years of travelling to Gravity Falls, they were the only ones who were ever on the morning bus at the start of Summer vacation.

"Nice nap?" asked the driver. Dipper nodded while he stared out the front, just before the old sign titled 'Gravity Falls' came into sight. The sound of laughter rang up from the rear as Mabel announced; "We're back baby!"

The vehicle pulled up the station on the edge of town, and the Pines twins thanked the driver before collecting their bags. After their third year coming the Oregon for the Summer, neither Dipper nor Mabel really needed to pack anything, since the Mystery Shack was practically their second home. Even though their old friend Soos was there as the official owner, he left all the bedrooms available for the Pines family.

"Y'know, even after five years of weirdness, I wouldn't change this place for every last grain of Smile-Dip," Mabel sighed happily.

"I know, even though your track record is shaky," Dipper replied recalling the three times his twin threatened the apocalypse instead of going back home. But after no incident last year, Dipper believed she'd come to terms with leaving the town to return for holidays. "Now then, shall we take the express way or the scenic route?"

"Scenic. After last year, I won't go express ever again!" Mabel announced.

"You rode a wyvern to the Mystery Shack during rush hour, impressed dozens of people who spend hundreds in cash; and you won't do it again because you missed free donuts at Greasy's Diner!?" her brother asked astounded.

The brunette nodded strong and began walking into town dragging her luggage behind her. Dipper shook his head with a smile; his sister was something else. Throwing his backpack on, he set out to follow, stopping briefly upon hearing a whine from the trees. A large reptilian head lay low in the bushes, the rest of its large body concealed in the thicket.

"Not this time, sorry," Dipper told the wyvern then jogged after Mabel.

* * *

Shortly after entering the more active part of town, the twins were greeted every few steps by the locals whom they had come to know over the years. Everyone from the video rental store clerk to the only biker gang in Gravity Falls waved at them as they passed.

Stopping shortly from towns edge Mabel went into the convenience store to pick up some "supplies." Dipper knew she secretly bought stuff for Soos as thanks for something he didn't know about. Soos covered for him loads of times, and vice versa; so he figured it was a big favour.

While he let his mind wander, he failed to notice a sapphire car drive up beside him. Only when the driver lowered their window and pinched his arm did the young man flinch as turn quickly. His shock turned to happy surprise when a sunglasses wearer, ruby haired Wendy Corduroy grinned up at him.

"Hey there stranger," she giggled from her vehicle. "Where's your _big_ sister?" teased the older girl.

Dipper laugher and threw a thumb over his shoulder; "If you're looking for my _older_ sister, she's making purchases. And you're one to talk, last I checked; you weren't so tall last time we came here on holidays."

The young woman scoffed and opened the door. First came the brown boots, then tight jeans, and finally a flannel shirt with its sleeves rolled back. It was definitely Wendy alright. Dipper couldn't help but smile as she got right up in front of him and looked him over. The young man desperately tried to conceal his laughter, knowing that finally he was just taller than the lumberjill.

"Well I'll be damned," Wendy's usual relaxed tone spoke out; "Guess the mark on your head finally fits the body its stuck on?"

That was it, Dipper couldn't hold it in; he burst out laughing, and Wendy couldn't help but join in. Quickly a brunette carrying a bag of snacks shot out of the store looking around.

"Who's having fun without me!" she yelled excitedly. "Wendy!" Mabel called out, and making like a rocket, sped towards her old friend, exploding into a bear hug.

"Sup Mabel? Why didn't you call to say you were here?" asked the lumberjill.

"We literally arrived fifteen minutes ago," Mabel answered, which Dipper affirmed with a nod.

"Well do you dorks want a lift to the Shack? I was heading up there to collect Melody," Wendy explained. "Soos is planning a trip away for their anniversary, and I've been gifted the job of distracting her for the day; all expenses paid." That last part brought a devilish grin to her face.

"Sure, thanks Wen! Dipper, brother, be a dear and put my bags in the trunk," Mabel said clapping her hands twice before dashing around her red-headed friend to claim shotgun.

Wendy chuckled and expected Dipper to put up a fight, but he just shot a quick grin at her and proceeded to pack the luggage into the car. As she climbed into the driver seat, Wendy looked to Mabel and asked if something happened to Dipper recently.

"Oh, yeah, you see…Dipper was," she began, only to stop when the back door opened and her bother climbed in. "I'll tell you later," the brunette whispered. Curious, but content for now, Wendy hit the gas and sped out of town, driving down the old trail the Mystery Shack, the very same path she cycled when she was younger.

"So," Wendy started, "what are your plans for the next few weeks?"

"I've got plans to meet up with my girls tomorrow for some time away," Mabel chimed. "Marius has given Grenda his yacht for the next two weeks, but since she can't drive it yet; the damn thing is sitting in Gravity Falls lake, waiting to be airlifted out when we're done."

Wendy let a long whistle fly; "Money can do crazy things, man." After a minute of silence, she cleared her throat and looked in the rear-view mirror. "How 'bout you Dipper? Any weird adventures planned that I could tag along on if I'm bored?" She watched carefully as he answered her, never turning his gaze from the passing trees.

"Not particularly, I mean; if they happen, they happen. I haven't thought about adventures yet, but maybe in a while. I'll probably check around, get some rest. I started drawing more seriously, so I may just go out some day to work on that," he replied.

Wendy couldn't tell if he was depressed or just really tired. When Mabel pitched in, she was certain that something was wrong and Dipper was trying to hide it; the change in his enthusiasm since getting into the car was startling.

"How about you go visit Pacifica? You guys always do nerd stuff when you're together," the brunette asked her twin.

"N-no, that's alright; she's usually busy and Pacifica always comes to us when she wants," he replied a little scatted. After quickly regaining his composure, Dipper quickly changed the subject. "What about you Wendy, what are your plans, do you have any?"

The lumberjill took a moment to browse her mind before replying with a simple; "Nope." The group soon arrived at their destination, where they were greeted by their old friend Soos.

"Dudes! Welcome back. I'd love to chat with you guys but I've got some stuff I gotta do first," the large man explained in his ever-friendly tone.

"It's cool man, Wendy told us during the drive; do what you gotta do, and we can catch up later," Dipper replied with a thumbs-up. His friend gave him a grin, waved at Mabel while she gathered her belongings, then returned inside the Mystery Shack calling for his wife.

"Alright Dip, I'll head off now with Melody," Wendy said, giving the younger man a nudge. "How about you and me meet at my place tomorrow for a bad movie marathon, like usual?"

Dipper stiffened up for a second then relaxed and answered. "Sorry, I think I'll be sorting some stuff out before Mabel goes on her "trip" with Candy and Grenda," he apologised. The red-head knew something was wrong; Dipper had always dropped everything for movie night, not that she was upset. Wendy made a quick decision there and then just as Melody came out to greet them.

"Hey guys, nice trip?" the woman asked, all smiles.

"You bet! The bus got a makeover this year: leather seats baby," Mabel answered, rubbing her cheeks in satisfaction, which got a laugh out of everyone. "So anyway, you're off with Wendy for the afternoon, right?"

Before Melody could answer, the lumberjill cut in; "Actually Mabel, I was thinking you could join us, y'know since we won't see you while you're with C. & G." The brunette replayed the sentence in her mind twice over before reading between the lines.

"Oh, sure, I'd…love to," she finally managed. "Just let me drop my bag up to the room and I'll be right down," and with that said, ran into the residence.

After a light minute of casual questions directed at Dipper, the other Pines twin re-joined Melody, letting the pair and Wendy depart for a few hours of fun and gossip. Dipper had no qualms, he wanted some time alone, and Soos needed to finish his bookings for whatever plans he had for his anniversary.

The young man picked up his backpack, not bothering to throw it over his shoulder, and made his way to his room. Since Soos had the study for work, the room where Dipper and Mabel's incident with 'Experiment 78' was now the room his sister used since they no longer slept in the same room. Climbing the stairs to the usual attic room, Dipper retreated into the corners of the house for an hour, letting his troubles dissolve like a sugar cube in a pot of coffee. He would leave later, a walk would do him some good, but for now; quiet was perfect.

* * *

"Either of you had breakfast yet?" Wendy asked as she pulled up into the parking space right beside Greasy's Diner. Both Melody and Mabel shook their heads, so the group entered inside where Lazy Susan greeted them, and seeing the Mabel was part of the group grew excited that the Pines twins were back for another Summer.

Once the trio were sitting in a booth, deciding on what to have, Melody left for the restroom giving Wendy her chance to resume her chat with Mabel about Dipper's odd behaviour. Not knowing how long she had, Mabel gave the shortest version she could for now.

"Y'know how Dipper used to be…challenged with relationships?" the brunette asked. "Well, he got better over the years; went on dates, the usual stuff. But once we were back last Autumn this girl came to him: Rachel. She hung out with Dipper for weeks, he helped her with her studies, even though they were in completely different courses, and things were good for months."

Wendy was locked onto the conversation, soaking in every letter so she would know how to get her friend out of his rut.

"Anyway, Dipper had officially been going out with her for about six months, even during the short breaks from college. I have to admit, I was even starting to like her, until the finals results arrived. Dipper helped her achieve enough points to get what she wanted, but what nobody saw coming was what she did next," Mabel spoke, her brow furrowing and knuckles cracking as she clenched her fists. "That monster ditched him in front of the college cafeteria, saying that he had "fulfilled his use, and she didn't need him anymore," ugh!"

Wendy shot back in her seat, shocked that someone would ever consider doing such a thing to Dipper; he was always happy to help someone who needed it, why hurt him for no reason? "So, that was about three weeks ago. I take it he's still sore and just wants to be alone?" the lumberjill inquired.

Mabel nodded and waggled a finger off to the side, signalling her friend that Melody was returning and it was time to change topic. Wendy understood and moved her gaze to the menu just as the woman reached the booth. "I think I'll have the pancakes," she announced, while simultaneously planning to get Dipper out and boost his spirits a bit.

* * *

Having finally decided to leave the attic room, Dipper could hear Soos on the phone confirming reservations, so he just waved to his friend as he left the Shack. A short walk into town later, and the young man was browsing around mall, not really looking for anything but rather to sate his appetite for distraction. He was almost relaxed when a voice called out to him from the entrance to the technology store.

"Dipper Pines, when did you arrive into town? Not here to stir up trouble, are you?" the calm voice of Pacifica Northwest asked, as the slender blonde approached.

"Hey Paz, I actually arrived about an hour and a half ago," Dipper replied, turning around to place a knick-knack back on the shelf. "What're you up to? Last Summer you were occupied with a big project, did it deliver?"

Pacifica smiled, honest joy radiating from her face; "Yep! After my investments into McGucket tech, I now have as much money as I had all those years ago, only, you know: legally and honest this time." She laughed softly; time had taught Pacifica a harsh lesson about real life, and Dipper often worried that in her pursuit to restore wealth to her name, her body would suffer. He couldn't tell if she was naturally skinny, or in desperate need of a balanced diet.

"Tell you this though; I've got one meeting in an hour and I don't know how long I will be so, how about tomorrow we go out for dinner and catch up?" she asked, a pink tinge to her cheeks.

"I don't know Paz," Dipper began, but once he looked at her crestfallen face he sighed and spoke up; "Let me re-organise some things and I'll call you. If I can't, there's always another day." Pacifica looked pleased with the response, and asked Dipper to wish her luck in her meeting; which he did.

Groaning quietly, the young man made his way for the exit. He knew he was being unreasonable, and logically made no sense; but the heart never did make sense, a broken one even less so. Making his way outside the young man began feeling that fate was against him today, a thought enforced when Mabel's friend Candy bumped into him as he left for the main road.

"Dipper? No way, when did you get hear?" she asked. He was getting real sick of answering that question so many times before lunch, but repressing his petty feelings, he explained his situation like before. Dipper informed her of Mabel's plans and the yacht, and how his twin would call Candy later. The polite young woman thanked Dipper, and mentioned something about a technology show in over a week. Unfortunately, Dipper was just trying to get back to the Mystery Shack, it had been a long morning. Wishing her fun on the yacht, he turned tail and left, oblivious that he also left Candy worried about his behaviour; the guy was easy to read.

* * *

Late afternoon arrived, and Wendy, Mabel and Melody returned to the Mystery Shack. According to Soos, Dipper had been in his room for the last four hours. When the man knocked on the door, his young friend told him everything was fine and that he was drawing. As Soos and Melody left, the happy husband turned around, tossing the keys to the Mystery Shack to Mabel with a wink.

"See you soon!" was all Mabel called out as the couple departed for the surprise Soos had planned. Turning back to the Shack, the brunette sighed; "Wendy, if you want to stay you can, but I don't know how active Dipper will be."

Agreeing to join her, Wendy followed Mabel inside and lay across the sofa waiting patiently for anything to happen. For a short while there was a quiet murmur coming from upstairs, which she presumed was the twins talking. When Mabel came downstairs she told Wendy to check for anything good on the TV, and she would get dinner started. Soon the smell of steaks wafted through the house, and since Mabel was tired, the meat was accompanied by oven fries and instant gravy, the good one that Stan kept just for steak.

"Here you go Wendy," Mabel said, handing over a plate. "Did you find anything good?"

"Not really. Unless you want to watch science shows or documentaries?" the lumberjill replied, sticking a forkful of fries into her mouth.

"Anything about cats?" Mabel asked while she enjoyed her meal. With a quick flick of the remote, the pair watched the African lion for an hour as it ruled the plains in its pride. Soon after her meal Mabel bid Wendy goodnight, saying she needed to be up early in the morning for the last checks before her trip. The red-head nodded and said she would leave, but upon opening the door was faced with torrential rain which made the road back to town deadly, even for an experienced driver.

"Any chance I can crash her for the night?" the lumberjill asked. All too happy to comply, Mabel dug out one of her long night gowns and passed them to her friend. Wendy took a moment to thank the stars that her friend always had ridiculously proportioned clothes. After a final "goodnight," the girls split ways for bed; Mabel to her room, and Wendy to the sofa.

Some minutes passed while Wendy faded into her dreams, only to be pulled out at the last minute when the sound of footsteps tapped quietly down the stairs. Not moving from her spot, the lumberjill went completely unnoticed as Dipper made for the kitchen. She watched him take out a plate of food from the refrigerator and start to eat it cold. He was quiet, almost ghost like in his movements. Suddenly he dropped his cutlery onto his plate and leaned back, covering his eyes with his left hand.

"Ugh, damn it," he muttered, wiping his tears. He had to get over himself, being a recluse wouldn't help him, nor would ignoring his friends. He stared back at the meal, not wanting to finish it, pushing it away from him. A light knocking on wood drew his attention to Wendy as she stood in the doorframe. "Oh, Wendy; I didn't know you were here," he spoke, his voice breaking sadly at the end.

The red-head moved over to him and leaned her back to table. He was looking up at her, trying to disguise his sadness, but red eyes and pale skin betrayed him. Deciding it was time to talk with him, Wendy pulled up a seat. "Dipper, do you want to talk out what's been troubling you?"

The young man averted his eyes, and sat quietly. It was very unlike Dipper to act so, and he knew if there was anyone who he could talk to other than Stan, it was Wendy. Giving in, he told the red-head a more detailed version of the story Mabel had, explaining how he was the one asked out, and how Rachel had proposed they be a couple. After he finished recounting the painful experience, the young man felt a weight lifted from his body. Wendy even managed to get him chuckling and soon suggested they watch some TV. At peace for the first time in weeks, he accepted the invitation.

As they sat together under a blanket, finishing the last scenes of 'Thunder Cows from Saturn,' Wendy felt her friend's head fall against her, his exhaustion finally catching him after all his stress was taken. The lumberjill leaned back letting Dipper use her torso as a pillow while she stroked his hair. "Rest well Dip, tomorrow's another day," and tilting her head back, drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Meanwhile out on Gravity Falls lake, as the rain grew stronger and lightning crashed through the heavens; a blue rift tears open on Skuttlebutt Island. Two of the time paradox prevention officers step out, one stern, the other very afraid.

"What's happening? Why are the readings bouncing around this wildly?" the scared officer asked.

"Because it's out of our hands now," the other replied, pressing buttons on his wrist, creating a new rift. "We have to leave it to _him,_ or else the consequences would be irreversible. We can only pray things work out, may the sands of time protect us." Concluding his speech, the officer placed a device on the ground which hummed a soft green light. Quickly he ushered his colleague through the time rift and closed the way.

As thunder boomed and the sky lit up, a bolt of green lighting struck the device in the earth. Standing in the ashes was a figure, wearing flip-flops, grey jeans, a loose green t-shirt covered by an open lab-coat, and large sunglasses.

"Well now, what oh what do we have going on here?" he asked himself.

* * *

 **Hey folks, welcome to the show! As I promised, here is another story which I've thought out and you all voted for in the polls. I'd like to thank you for joining me with this new story, and I hope you all enjoy it.**

 **And a big hooray for over 25K views on my other story!**

 **TGGDSD.**


	2. Intervention Time

Dipper awoke to the sound of shuffling, as his twin dragged her bag down the hall, fitted out for her time with Candy and Grenda. With a yawn, the young man tried to recall why he was in the living room, and then turned his attention to the dozing red-head beneath him. Quickly recalling last night's events he slid off the sofa, embarrassed by his actions. Wendy had supported him when he was in need of it, and he decided to make up for it later on.

Leaving the lumberjill in peace, he moved towards the sound of Mabel to wish her a good time. "Everything packed?" he asked.

"Huh?" came the reply as the brunette was surprised by his presence. "Y-yeah, I'm ready, but how about you, feeling better?"

Dipper nodded, and told her that he had slept well after being back in Gravity Falls, and for now he would hang around with the people who cared, helping him get over his issues and get back to normal. Mabel was very pleased to hear her brother with some spirit after weeks of light depression.

"That's just it bro-bro; there's always people who care, it's just hard to see them while you mind is clouded," the brunette said with a soft smile. While Dipper appreciated the speech, he was more taken off guard by it. His sister was a lot of things, but philosophical wasn't one of them.

Offering that they go out for breakfast, his plan was dismissed when he was informed of the limousine that was waiting to collect Mabel. A quick pat on his back, and his sister was gone. "Guess it's just me now," he thought, but returning to the sight of Wendy on the sofa redirected his mind into repaying her for before. He thought of a few different things, but quickly decided that brunch and maybe a movie was a good start. Switching out into a clean set of clothes, Dipper left for the local store just down the road, being careful as he left the property since the roads were still covered in puddles.

* * *

Making his way to the breakfast isle, Dipper began filling a basket with the various food stuffs until reaching the last fridge. Inside was over a dozen different types of bacon alone, each cut differently with their own flavour. The young man stood before them contemplating, which did he think the lumberjill would most enjoy? While mulling it over, a girl around his age, moved up beside him.

"Pardon me, I just wanted to grab some bacon," she said, alerting Dipper that he was in the way. She wore a peaked hat, light summer clothes, and boots; but that's not what surprised Dipper. The girl had red hair, deep red like the Corduroys. As she reached into the storage unit, she pulled out three packets of meat, handing one to Dipper. "You look like you're having trouble, and my mom swears by this flavour," the girl said with a smile and walked away.

His confusion turned to acceptance, and young man turned his attention to the packet in his grasp: Thick cut, pine smoked, back bacon. He had to admit, it sounded really good. Placing it with the rest of his items, Dipper made his way for the check-out, unaware of the figure watching him.

The strange man in the lab coat paced the isles quietly, watching Dipper for a moment, then turning his attention to the red-haired girl. With a sigh, he grabbed a bag of chips off a shelf and with a small green flash he was gone. Just around the corner of the store, the red-haired girl stood in the shadows, cursing under her breath.

"C'mon! Why won't you work, damn it!" she hissed, fiddling with what appeared to be a small pocket watch.

"That would be because of me," came a voice from behind her. The strange man stood beside her, munching away on his treats. The girl jumped back in surprise and pulled out a small plastic rod, which when she gave it a flick, sparked.

"Back off! I'm warning you, I've fought time-police before," she threatened, though clearly wary of the man.

"Look kid," he chuckled, "you don't want to fight me, and I don't want to fight you; too messy." Another mouthful of chips later he spoke again; "What you're after doing is not easily fixed, and I might add, potentially fatal; and not the nice fatal!"

"Who the hell are you?" asked the girl, losing her patience with the stranger.

"Technically, the counsel of time took my name and gave me the title of 'Chronos,' so that's all I've got" he laughed again. Wiping a happy tear from his eye, Chronos walked towards the girl, who in a panic swung her weapon at him. Before it reached the time agent it stopped, everything stopped. The red-head couldn't move, scream or breath; only move her eyes. "The counsel demands that when cases like this occur, I _eliminate_ the source of the issue, and often I do. However, I don't kill children, animals, or things I like, and since you fall into at least one of those categories, you get to live," he explained, stepping behind the girl as time resumed and her spark rod struck empty air.

"Then why? Why aren't you going to interfere if it's your job?" she asked, shaking off the dizzy feeling of a time-lock.

"Kid, you know enough about time travel to get this far, and by that reasoning, you also know the consequences of time manipulation," his happy joking tone was now dead serious as he looked the red-head in the eyes. One of his was a white iris, while the other was a soft gold that churned behind the membrane, like sand in an hourglass. "What you've done, is send a flare out to every possible future alerting them that their chance of coming true is being tampered with."

"But I haven't done anything yet!" the girl replied, becoming frightened.

"But you have! Just now, inside! The whole 'my mom swears by this flavour' speech you just pulled! Believe it or not, each one of those flavoured meats was a different future which _you_ just cut out by direct interference!" Chronos explained, trying to keep calm. The only people who mess with time are those who think they understand it, when they've only read the first page of time travel, in a library dedicated to it.

The young girl was starting to hyperventilate, the seriousness of her actions being realised, when a warm hand touched her shoulder. Chronos aura radiated tranquillity which eased the girl back into rationality.

"Here's what I'm going to do," he said calmly; "You have about a month to indirectly influence the events you want. I'd prefer if you didn't interact with anyone, but definitely no further chats with _him_! In return, I will prevent any large temporal interference from effecting the universal outcome. But know this: if others replicate what you have done, they are entitled to the same factors as you are, understand?" When the red-head nodded, Chronos removed his hand off her shoulder.

With his work done for now, the time guardian was consumed in a bright green flash, and a green spark rocketing away from the location, up a drain pipe. The sound of the store's automatic doors opening with a chime drew the girl's attention, and she watched Dipper on his way back to the Mystery Shack.

"I'll definitely succeed, I have to!" she whispered to herself, and walked briskly in the opposite direction.

* * *

Carefully the door to the Mystery Shack eased open as Dipper snuck back inside. Thankfully Wendy was still asleep, giving him time to start cooking. Trying his best to remain silent, the young man worked away, leaving the bacon until last. He knew from experience that the lumberjill loved her bacon pan-fried; the only drawback being the noise of said frying. Sure enough, just as he had finished putting it all together on a plate, Wendy strolled into the kitchen wearing Mabel's gown.

"Morning Wendy, just in time," the young man greeted her, placed the plate down and pulled out a seat. Pleasantly surprised, the red-head wasted no time in taking her place and took a moment to admire the selection of breakfast goodies before her.

"Something good happen?" she asked with a grin, grabbing a fork and digging in.

"You could say that," Dipper answered, slider some of the bacon from the pan in between two slices of buttered bread. "It's more of a thank you, for last night. I needed to get some things off my chest, and you helped me out," he admitted. Wendy paused mid-bite, a hard beat in her chest was felt but for a moment. When Dipper turned around from the grill she resumed eating until her first cut of bacon.

"Oh my God Dipper! What is this," she asked, trying to stop her eyes fluttering. "What do you do to this, it's the best bacon I've had in my life, and my Dad know more about bacon than anyone!"

Dipper laughed softly at her behaviour, like watching a child try chocolate for the first time. "It's pine wood smoked, I think. Somebody I ran into at the store suggested it."

Regaining her composure, Wendy asked jokingly; "Who was it? I must punish them for hiding this treasure from me!"

"I don't actually know who it was, at least I've never seen them around before. A girl a little younger than me; and she had red-hair like yours," he explained. Wendy looked at him in confusion and her eyebrows raised.

"That's weird, only my family has red-hair in Gravity Falls. Maybe they were just passing through?" she proposed. Dipper shrugged and bit into his sandwich.

"Whoever they were, they've got good taste!"

Shortly after breakfast, the Dipper left Wendy to change out of Mabel's gear, and took the time to finally organise his belongings in the attic room.

"Aaaaand, there! Sorted," he said to himself, wiping his hands together. Some months back he read an article on mental attitude adjustment, and one fact was that an organised room in the morning set your brain up for the day. A quick knock on the door turned his attention, and Wendy poked her head inside.

"Hey man, you ready to…whoa, what's this?" she said getting lost halfway. The red-head moved over to the desk by wall and picked up pieces of paper, each with hand drawn images of locations or strange creatures, some of which she recognised from past adventures with the Pines twins. "Dipper, did you draw all these?"

The young man nodded; "I took up drawing lessons a while back, since I wanted to keep adding to Gruncle Ford's works. More detailed sketches are more professional, and it's something that can be relaxing. Truth be told, Mabel is still better at art, she just doesn't like pencils."

Just as Wendy was placing the images back, her pocket buzzed and chimed. Removing her cell phone from her pocket, the young woman huffed aloud; "My brothers need me back at home for a while, something to do with Dad. I'll catch you later, yeah?"

"Sure, just give me a heads-up first," Dipper answered. With a wave, the lumberjill was out the door and driving back towards town. With his afternoon now open, Dipper left his room for the TV, only to stop at the sound of knocking coming from the back door by the gift shop. Without hesitation, he unlocked the passage and opened the way in.

Standing in from of him were two girls, one slightly older than him and the other slightly younger. Both had platinum blonde hair, and wore expensive looking clothes. To be frank, they looked entirely out of place.

"Hi, can I help you ladies?" Dipper asked, unsure of what else to do. The younger of the pair stepped up, looking up at him with a smile.

"Hello, we were hoping that you could help us out," she began, her voice proud and well spoken. "We have come with our parents on a business trip, and were informed that this location was of interest and worth a visitation."

Looking quickly at the older girl, then back to the younger, Dipper answered; "Well, yes, I mean, this is a place many tourists visit, but we don't have a tour today, or for the next few days."

"I told you, what do we do now?" whispered the older girl.

"Perhaps you could make an exception just this once for us? Maybe this could change your mind," they younger said, producing a bundle of money from her handbag. Unfortunately for her, the reaction from Dipper was not what she expected.

Dipper remembered the old Pacifica Northwest and the way her family behaved with their money. Granted, all had improved since then, but he still behaved hostile to those who thought money could get them everything they wanted. "I decline," he said sternly, moved to close the door.

"Please wait!" the older girl spoke up. While it appeared to be an outburst, the volume was little more than average speech. Opening the door again, Dipper watched her fidget in place before removing an envelope from her own handbag. "I apologise for our behaviour, we just really wanted to see what was inside. Please take this as a gift; if you have any friends who enjoy high class dining, this should suffice."

Softly handing the item to Dipper, the older girl stepped back, her long hair hiding her face. Dipper sighed, now feeling like the bad guy, and stepped to one side, waving his hand inside; "Welcome to the Mystery Shack, please look around, and if you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask."

When the pair wandered in, the younger girl lowered her head in shame, while the older one followed close, thanking Dipper for letting them in. As they examined the junk that adorned the walls and shelves, Dipper investigated the envelope. Inside was a ticket for 'Dinner for two, with bottle of Sanguine Felicis' at La Paradox, the fancy restaurant on the East of town. Thinking this was the perfect thing for his dinner with Pacifica, the young man retired the item to his pocket.

"Oh, Gina look," said the older girl, beckoning her companion over. "Remember this?" She pointed to a slab of stone, taken from Bill Cipher's fortress years ago. It held insane symbols to match its creator.

"I'm sorry, but you said you two have never been to this town before, right?" Dipper asked. When the younger of the two confirmed this, he continued; "So why do you recognise a relic that has no equal in the world?"

Gina froze up, increasing Dipper's suspicion. However, when the quiet, older girl stepped up, the young man listened carefully. "It's our brother, he is really in love with this stuff, and goes out of his way to uncover the newest of rumours at any cost." Dipper believed her; since he had seen first-hand what extravagant amounts of money could do. A soft series of chimes rang through the air, and the sisters, and Dipper had just confirmed, looked at him and thanked him for his patience.

"I'm sorry for my behaviour, and I hope Aura's token makes up for it," Gina said. Dipper reached behind the counter momentarily, producing two badges, some stickers, and a Stan bobble-head. Handing them to the duo he gave a quick speech on how money was a useful tool, but letting it change you towards arrogance was an easy trap.

"Yeah, sorry Dad," replied the Gina, looking at the merchandise in her hands. Dipper frowned, and looked to the older sister, who had gone pale. The young man was shocked when the quiet young woman grasped her sister's wrist tightly and begged his forgiveness for Gina's behaviour. Waving it off, he watched Aura drag Gina out of the Shack and towards town.

"Rich people are probably the weirdest thing in this world," he sighed, and returned to the living room, hoping to find something interesting to watch while he waited for Pacifica to call him about their plans for later.

* * *

Just beyond the tree line, out of direct sight; Aura and Gina were concealed.

"What was that!" Aura hissed, her tender persona in conflict with her emotions.

"I'm sorry it just slipped out," Gina apologised. It was an honest mistake on her part. The pair's mission to influence Dipper's actions was somewhat successful. "At least we have a chance; now it's just the waiting game until the best moment," she concluded, pulling a technological sphere from her handbag.

"Is that an automatic temporal grapple?" came a voice. The sisters spun quickly in search of the source, and then slowly turned their gazes upwards. Sitting on a high branch was Chronos, grinning down at them. Without hesitation, Aura pulled out a remote like device and pointed it at him. "Don't do it missy," he said before she pushed a button. The sound of a television switching off was heard, and leaves in mid-fall stuck in place.

"That should buy us enough time to find somewhere to hide, God; why did I agree to do this?" Aura said.

"Because somebody messed with your chance at existence, and wasn't subtle about it," answered Chronos, still sitting happily on his perch. The fact he was still mobile in time scared the life out of Aura. "Now, now, don't fret. You're fast with your hands, and that's worth complimenting. But now you both are going to listen to me, so you don't dig a hole so deep you can't climb out!" His usual trick of transporting via green lighting placed him in front of the sisters.

"Just who are you?" asked Gina. Chronos rolled his eyes, realising that he may have to answer that question many times over the next few weeks, and it was only day one. Giving the same explanation the red-haired girl received, Chronos informed them of his job, his task, and what his deal was with the time travellers that were related to the outcome they were trying to achieve.

"So that's the deal, you two can influence indirectly, without the use of high powered temporal devices or taking with him again," Chronos finished.

"Wait, so what does that leave us with?" Gina asked.

"Why, your initiative of course! You aren't the first to arrive, and I had already placed the Omega Chain, so you accepted the terms when you gained entry," he said pressing a button on his wrist device, which showed a holographic document signed by both Aura and Gina. "It was all in the terms and conditions." The girls scowled, frustrated at him and themselves.

"Well then, we have work to do, goodbye!" Gina announced and turned heel. Another green flash and the oddly dressed man loomed over the girl, his hand outstretched and open.

"Don't try and cheat at my game, it doesn't bode well. The device please," he asked in a jovial tone, but the energy he was giving off was threatening. With a shaky hand Gina produced the tech-sphere, placing it in his grasp. Never breaking eye contact, the agent dropped the device to the ground causing it to vanish into a rift. "Break the rules and you don't deal with me; the counsel will send a colleague of mine who isn't as friendly."

With his point securely placed in their minds, Chronos turned to leave, only pausing when Aura called out to him; "Just how screwed are?"

With a laugh, he replied; "About as screwed as everyone else who is trying to change the future. But let me put it this way: it's about as risky as learning to swim, in a pool filled with crocodiles, wearing a suit made of bloody chickens. Have fun kids!"

Lightning struck the earth, and Chronos was gone. The sisters looked to each other and swallowed hand, they now knew what they were in for.

"Guess we have a month to fix things," Gina said.

"And so do the others. All we can do now is play the game," Aura replied. The pair began their walk back to town, now that Chronos had disabled their advanced devices, leaving the duo with only basic items.

"I think we should wait a bit, then go see if we can convince _her_ to work with us," Gina proposed. Aura agreed, and got lost in her thoughts during their movement, hoping she could save their future, not just for herself and Gina, but her their little brother Tyrone as well.

 **Hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. Due to the nature of the story, it will take longer to finish chapters since I can't contradict myself with time travel.**

 **Reviews for this story are greatly appreciated since they will help me figure out exactly how you guys/gals want things to work out.**

 **Stay Classy,**

 **TGGDSD.**


	3. Time for a Lesson

Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, holding a red tie to his neck, Dipper examined himself for the tenth time, wondering if he was dressing too formal. Finally, he decided on no neckwear, and moved into the kitchen for a drink. Minutes later his phone buzzed, a message from Pacifica stating that she was arriving to the Mystery Shack right then. As he approached the entrance, a soft knock resonated from the wood.

"Knock knock! Dipper, l you there?" came the voice. When he opened the door, Pacifica stood happily before in, a short red dress and navy jacket, with her hair tied loose coming over her collarbone.

"Hey Paz, you look great," the young man announced, remembering what Stan told him all those years ago; " _Compliments Dipper, that's what they want! Other things later, but always start with compliments. Unless you hate them, then…"_ Dipper cringed inwardly at the flashback, things got weird from that point.

"Well, are you going to tell me why we're dressed up so glamorously? Seems a bit much for any old restaurant or diner," the blonde commented. She was unaware of the tickets her friend had received earlier that day.

"Not at all, I believe we are perfect for the occasion. Now, shall we get going?" Dipper replied, offering his arm for Pacifica to hold. With a laugh and a tinge of blush, she accepted the offer and the duo entered the black car which Pacifica had hired for the evening.

Dipper gave hushed instructions to the driver, directing him to 'La Paradox' for their dinner. Upon arriving, he was quite pleased to see the surprise on his companion's face when she saw where they were.

"Wait, you're joking?" she said in disbelief. "There's no way! This place is expensive even for me! How did you…" Dipper simply smiled and held out a hand, which Pacifica took once again, as he led them inside. As they approached the podium inside, the waiter raised an eyebrow asking of how he could assist the _young_ couple. Dipper explained to him of his reservation and the tickets he'd received. When he produced the pieces of paper, one could hear a single loud heartbeat from the waiter before he bowed low and escorted the pair to a table outside the main hall, in the gardens on its own, surrounded by well-maintained flowers and a large marble fountain.

While Pacifica was in awe of the glorious sight, Dipper felt an increase of temperature under his collar; just how valuable were these tickets he'd received? He felt like the staff were assuming him to be either royalty or the leader of a drug cartel! He felt he should try and ease the tension upon the next time the staff approached him.

"Now Madam en Monsieur, I would expect you wish for your usual choices, but I'm afraid we do not have the information of the last time you visited us, my greatest apologies," the waiter said, his head low, very apologetic. Pacifica looked at Dipper showing slight discomfort at his behaviour. She remembered when she was young, the attitude of her our staff, but the man just radiated fear.

"No, no, it's quite alright," Dipper spoke up, seizing his chance to explain his normality; "You see, I acquired those tickets as a gift for helping out someone. This was their way of thanking me, and as you can see, we are here for a nice dinner, and that is all." The waiter showed his relief and smiled at the information. With a pat on Dipper back, he left to get the menus and drinks.

"Well, that was something," Pacifica stated, turning her gaze to her company for the evening. "You want to enlighten me on those tickets and whom you got them from?"

Dipper described the two visitors who approached him that morning, and gave his recollection of the events that unfolded. When asking Pacifica if she knew who they were or possibly their family, she didn't know.

"So, then she said: thanks dad, and Aura dragged her off apologising," Dipper concluded.

"That's really weird, I mean; a near adult making fun of someone doing them a favour is just sad," the blonde replied, just as the waiter returned with their meal and a bottle of wine. "Oh, what do we have here?"

"The terms of the tickets provided a bottle of 'Sanguine Felicis,' whatever makes it so special is beyond me," the young man answered. Both Pacifica and the waiter looked at him in shock, then to each other, then to Dipper again.

"Dipper, that's Sanguine Felicis! It's so rare, critics claim it doesn't exist, and many people claim it has magical properties. I can't believe that there was a bottle here of all places." Turning to their waiter briefly she asked; "How did you come to possess such a treasure?"

"Lady K. the owner of La Paradox has had it for twenty years, claiming someday, the right people would come for it, not the usual wealthy families that come here." Soon other servers were looking for the waiter, and he bid the couple a pleasant meal.

As the young pair dug into their top-quality dinner, Pacifica cautiously asked Dipper about his behaviour the last day. Just like with Wendy, he explained his circumstances and how his classmate Rachel had hurt him. The blonde apologised for his terrible experience and hoped that the two-faced skank got what was coming to her.

"Thanks Paz; so anyway, Wendy caught me last night being frustrated and upset, and asked me if I wanted to talk. I have to say, she was right about opening up to friends: it makes the hurt go away pretty quickly," Dipper finished. "Now what say we try this special…wine?"

"Yes, I've been looking forward to it since it arrived. Just let me freshen up first," Pacifica answered with a smile. Dipper didn't quite understand until she stood up and tossed her thumb towards the bathrooms, causing the young man to grow embarrassed rather quick, making his companion laugh.

Pushing back in his seat, Dipper decided to look have a quick look around the garden during his wait, as well as allowing his meal to move on down a bit into his stomach. Out of the corner of his eye he spied a figure standing against the railings of the La Paradox gardens. It was a woman with stripe of purple in her hair, and Dipper knew immediately who she was.

"Tambry, is that you?" he called out softly. When she turned around searching for the source of the voice, she was pleasantly surprised.

"Hey Dipper, what are you doing in there? Did you win the lottery?" she asked honestly curious.

"Nah," he laughed, wishing he had; "Just got my hands on a coupon for one night. How are you doing, still with Robbie?" The older girl rubbed her arm nervously.

"Well, it's complicated right now, he's away on tour with Lee and Nate, and this is the third time he's just gone without telling me. It's getting old real fast Dipper," Tambry answered.

Just a few hundred feet away, Aura and Gina were holed up in the thicket of the forest, using an old pair of binoculars to spy on the scenes unfolding at the restaurant.

"What do you see Gina? Who is she?" the older sister asked, noticeably now wearing warmer, more suitable clothing for staking out in the woods.

"They're just chatting from what I can tell, doesn't look like we have anything to be concerned over," the younger sister replied from up a tree, also wearing new clothing, mostly camouflage.

A few seconds later Chronos appeared from the shadows of the trees, scaring the life out Aura. Gina turned her attention to him and hopped down from her vantage point.

"Hello ladies, it's time to come with me for a few minutes, it you please," he spoke in his usual cheery tone, but his eyes showed another emotion which the sisters couldn't work out. When they agreed, he stepped closer to them and suddenly they were gone in a flash of green lightning. They arrived in another part of the woods, where a tent and fire pit were, obvious signs of habitation all around.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" came a voice from over the tent. A young woman stepped out, brandishing a baton and a short cut of crimson hair. "Oh, it's you," the girl said noticing Chronos," but who are these two?"

"You're all in the same boat kids, and now I have a chance to show you the consequences of your actions. Step closer, you have a lesson to attend," the time guardian replied, a dark tone to his voice making the red-head comply. Just like before, a flash of Chronos' green lightning transported the group to a location very close to Dipper and Tambry. A hasty pressing of buttons on Chronos' wrist device, produced a field which he explained as a cloaking device. "Keep quiet and watch carefully."

Listening in to the end of the conversation between Dipper and Tambry, the group watched as the young woman bid her friend a goodnight and pleasant meal before leaving the scene, right towards them!

Just as Tambry neared the concealed figures, the sound of panting was heard from the path connected to the intersection. A young boy, around thirteen years old ran towards Tambry, clutching his ribs, a ghastly look on his face.

"STOP!" he cried, his voice in great pain; "you have to go back to him!" The young woman stopped as the teen reached her, on the verge of collapsing. She told him to stay calm while she tried to call an ambulance. The poor child grabbed her arm weakly and spoke: "Please, mom, please go back…" The concealed time travellers had to cover their mouths as the young boy let out his last breath and began to dissolve into sand, all the while holding Tambry's hand. The frantic woman looked around for anyone to help her, only to forget herself as the child's hand disintegrated.

Blinking three times, Tambry looked around lost, before shaking off her confusion and continued on her way back home. When she was out of sight, Chronos released the cloaking device revealing the two sisters holding each other shivering, and the red-haired girl on her knees, holding back her sobs.

"And that is what happens to you when your timeline fails," Chronos said solemnly, slowly approaching the pile of sand on the pavement. He began carefully scooping the sand into a small vial when Gina spoke out.

"Why did you show us that!? He was just a kid and we couldn't help him!" her anger rising through her watery eyes. After gathering the sample of sand, the time guardian turned to face the small blonde girl.

"I showed you that for two reasons. One; because now you know the consequences of breaking time lines, and two; because now all of you are the reason that boy was erased from time," he answered, his calm demeanour causing unrest in the group.

"What do you mean all of us? And who is she?" asked Aura, shaking in place, her finger pointing to the red-headed girl.

"I'm Pippy, Pippy Pines. Who are you two?" she said.

"I'm Aura…Aura Pines, and that's my sister Gina," responded the older blonde.

"Wait, so that means…you're from a possible future like us?" Gina asked Pippy.

Chronos snapped his fingers, returning all eyes to him: "Not just a possible future, but the one that opened the first rift to this timeline. But that's neither here nor there, you three have enough to worry about. That boy was a potential future, which had no chance of existing since a certain pair organised tonight's dinner by direct interference."

Shock, anger, and shame were all felt as each girl realised they had rivals to their future, and for experiencing first-hand the pain they had wrought upon all future children who failed to have a chance of being born.

Before anything else could be said Chronos waved his hands, causing a flash of green light to remove the children from his location. Seconds later a purple bolt of lightning struck in front of Chronos, presenting another time guardian, only unlike the casual appearance of Chronos, this person wore a high collared robe, dark purple with gold ornamentation around its back. It's owner, a dark-skinned woman, with long white hair, eyes similar to Chronos only instead of a white iris, her's was purple.

"Chronos. Messing around on the job as always, why am I not surprised?" she asked, in an annoyed tone.

"Come now Lost, it's not like I can be late to work, since, you know; time travel," he answered in the usual jovial tone, which subsequently only aggravated his college more.

"Don't call me Lost! Unlike you, the council didn't take my name for breaking the laws! Now excuse me why I actually do my job!" she sneered. Holding out her hand, the time agent caused the sands of the lost child to form a sphere in her palm, which when struck by purple lightning turned to glass. Placing the item into the pocket of her robe, she turned around to leave, stopping briefly when Chronos spoke out.

"It's not a crime to care, Amelia: it never has been." A flash later and she was gone.

Back at La Paradox, Pacifica returned to the table moments after Dipper had sat back down. With a short toast to friends, the pair drank their liquor and laughed as a multitude of sensations erupted.

"Wow! Tangy, and electric," Pacifica exhaled. Whatever was in the bottle was either literal alchemy from magical creatures or the closest thing a human could get to it.

"Mmm, shame this is the only bottle, Stan would literally kill someone for a glass of this," Dipper chuckled, a warm fuzzy feeling running up and down his spine.

Sometime later into the evening, when all of the wine had been drunk, Dipper and Pacifica bid the staff of the restaurant goodnight, and were pleasantly waved off. Strangely, neither were intoxicated, a thought they considered upon tasting the potency of the drink. When they reached the street, the driver of the black car stood ready to escort them.

Without turning to Dipper, Pacifica softly asked if he would like to join her back at her place for a coffee. The thoughts jumped around in his mind, his over analysis of situations was both useful and a right pain in the backside. Just before he answered two thoughts ran through his head; the moment his heart was beaten back at college, then to his morning with Wendy and the laughs they had. He didn't know why those thoughts came to mind, but he decided it had been a great night and not to push his luck.

"Thanks Paz, but I think I'll call it a night. I hope you enjoyed dinner, you were great company," he responded, failing notice the slight disappointment Pacifica showed. "Have a safe trip home, and we can meet up again really soon." The driver opened the door for Pacifica and nodded to Dipper as he closed the door.

When the vehicle drove off, the young man made his way in the other direction. He could flag down any driver, after all; everyone in Gravity Falls knew each other, but no, he was feeling good with the drink in his system. He would see if his sister was doing well on her trip, then send Wendy a message to check that whatever issue she had was dealt with, then a final goodnight to Pacifica to say he'd gotten home. As he came to the last leg home, the sound of gagging interrupted his journey.

Just out of his vision in the wood, he could hear it, followed by a splash of vomit. The sound of a girl crying started when the gagging stopped, and Dipper couldn't walk away. As he entered the rough, he found the figure leaning up against a tree, with her hands on her head, weeping.

"Excuse me, but would you like some help?" Dipper offered, not quite making out who the person was. The startled reaction he received was short lived as the hoarse voice tried to reply.

"N-no, please, I'm okay, I just…" *thud*, the figure collapsed.

"Oh for…" Dipper sighed, stepping around the body hoping to avoid the vomit, wherever it may lie. Pulling her up against him and up onto his shoulder, Dipper worked his way up to the Mystery Shack. When he reached the porch, he set down the unconscious person and turned on the light. Unconscious before him was the girl from the convenience store, with the crimson hair, and now; vomit down her shirt.

Quickly running inside to get some paper towels and water, he cleaned her up then carried her inside. Placing her on the couch, he turned to take off his jacket and noticed the stain on the back, due to the person he carried up. Just before throwing a blanket over her, Dipper faced a conundrum. The unfortunate young woman had a lot of stomach contents on her shirt and he couldn't leave her like that all night.

Swallowing his nerves and embarrassment, and trying his best not to look, Dipper remover the stained vestment and quickly covered her up. Taking the shirt and his jacket to the laundry room, he set thing up so the clothes would be ready by morning. With all that said and done, he grabbed his phone and dialed up the first person who came to mind.

"Hey man, everything okay?"

"Yeah, Wendy, is your issue sorted? I kind of need a hand over here, how soon can you arrive?"

* * *

 **Sorry about the late chapter releases: life has been a joke up to now trying to get chapters out, to the point it could be an Adam Sandler movie. Anyway, hope this was worth the wait, and if you have any ideas where you want this story to go, let me know. Everything will be considered, not necessarily chosen, but considered.**

 **Ciao!**


	4. Time to be Honest

Wendy stared at the sleeping girl, examining her physical details. She could understand why Dipper thought they were related; the resemblance was uncanny, aside from her short haircut.

"Well, this is perplexing," the lumberjill announced quietly as not to wake up the exhausted girl.

"Right? Not just the look alike features, but being alone in the woods and passing out: just plain weird," Dipper spoke out.

"I meant its strange that she has no shirt," Wendy replied, turning to the young man with squinted eyes. He immediately broke eye contact and rubbed his neck, trying to explain that her vestments were soiled, though his embarrassment was evident.

"Apart from looking like one of my family, which by the way, she isn't; how can you be sure she wasn't just drunk?" Wendy continued.

"Do you smell alcohol?" Dipper asked, knowing there wasn't a hint of it anywhere around. Even the unfortunate throw-up on his jacket held no trance of the liquid. "Either she is very sick and will need to be treated in hospital, or she suffered some form of mental trauma which exhausted her to this state," he concluded. When the red-head asked how he knew that, he just pointed to a large book on the table labelled 'First Aid.'

"So, what do you need me here for?" Wendy finally asked.

"Well, now I know she's not a relative of yours, so I don't expect you to take her to your place; but maybe if she saw you when she woke up she may be more relaxed," he explained. The lumberjill nodded; if she had passed out on the side of the road and woke up in some dude's house, there would be violence first, questions later. "So now you just have to tell me where you want to sleep."

The pair debated for a minute, but decided that they would move the girl up to Mabel's bed, which they managed to so without disturbing her slumber; and for Wendy to take Dippers bed, close to the stairs, so she could here movement. Dipper pulled back the lever on the old recliner in the sitting room, and chuckled for a moment as he realised there were sometimes he behaved like his Grunkle Stan. "That's not half bad either," he thought, just before drifting to sleep.

Meanwhile on the other side of town, Aura and Gina stood just outside of the new Northwest residence, owned by Pacifica herself.

"I don't know about this Gina; didn't the time guy say to avoid direct interference?" the older sister asked.

"We have to, I don't want to end up like that other kid, I don't want to be forgotten by Mom and Dad," Gina replied, tearing up but quickly wiping the tears away. "This is the last thing I wanted to do, but we have to try and get her help."

Aura laid a soft hand on her sister's shoulder. Gina had always the more forward sibling; active, talkative and a natural leader, but she was still young, and as scared as Aura was, she took charge and pressed the buzzer at the entrance to Pacifica's home. Gina needed her big sister to take the wheel for a while, the stress was finally getting to her.

Shortly a voice sounded from the small box; "Can I help you?" asked Pacifica.

"Yes, we need to speak with you privately Ms. Northwest, it's really important," Aura spoke out, trying to supress her nerves with every fibre of her body. There was silence for several seconds, then the reply.

"Can it wait until tomorrow, it's really late?"

"It needs to be now, please let us in," Aura asked again. Silence once more, then a sigh as Pacifica told them she would be out to them in a minute.

When the voice departed from the small voice box, Aura caught her breath. She had always cursed her timid nature, but was thankful of the time her parents spent with her, slowly helping her grow stronger. Soon a young woman could be seen walking towards the gate, a flashlight in hand.

"Now, what do you need at this hour?" the blonde asked her visitors, the tiredness in her voice evident.

"Could we go inside, this is going to take some explaining, and we can't do it here on the street," Aura managed to ask.

"No! I don't know you, and you want to come into my home at midnight without an explanation? Goodnight, now if you will excuse me, I'm going to bed," Pacifica answered and turned tail. Before she was two steps away, there was four *beeps* and a chime as her gates opened slowly. "How did you…"

"It was the date you realised you had feelings for Dad," Aura answered, helping her sister onto the property. "Please, Mom, please listen to what we have to say."

* * *

Pippy awoke with a start, cold sweat clung to her flesh as her eyes shot around the dark room, and she tried to recall how she arrived at her destination. The youth's stomach churned as she recalled the events of last night as she watched a boy from another timeline disintegrate. As her memory jumped forward, she was hazy in the details aside from talking to someone in the woods before she fainted.

The red-head felt around for a light, and eventually found one. When the darkness burned away, she saw where she was. Wobbling to her feet, she peered out the triangular window onto the grounds of the Mystery Shack.

"Oh no, don't tell me…" Pippy thought, and shuffled towards the door. Opening it she saw the halls lined with oddities and gimmicks she recognised too well. "I've got to go, wait; where's my shirt?" she asked herself, only realizing now that her only item of clothing was her pants. Shrugging off her confusion, Pippy took back the blanket she'd been wrapped in and tried to sneak down the stairs towards the exit.

As she reached the last step, a hushed voice spoke to her; "Maybe we can get you sorted out before you make a run for it?"

Wendy was leaning against the wall beside the staircase. She had heard movement the moment Pippy had jumped out of bed, and was ready to act. Years of apocalypse training continued to be useful to this day.

"Please, I have to go, you don't understand," the younger girl began, but was silenced by a raised hand.

"You have no idea what I've seen in my short life, don't think what you're hiding can be that bad," the lumberjill said. Wendy had taken a liking to the girl, reminded her of herself not long ago, and she wasn't the type to ditch somebody who obviously needed help: her Mom had taught her that lesson.

Tears began to fall to the floor as the young red-head began to quietly sob, the stress of her situation finally reaching breaking point. Unlike the two blonde sisters, Pippy had nobody with her, and now of all people to try and help, Wendy, her mother, was right there offering the hand.

Wendy grew nervous as to what to do and though it would be best to get Dipper, only to be stopped by a hand gripped around her nightshirt. With a sniffle, the sobbing girl shook her head and pointed upstairs; so, Wendy obliged and assisted her back to Mabel's room. After a few minutes of letting her tears dry up, Pippy finally decided that she would spill everything. If she wanted any chance of coming out of this mess, she needed Wendy on her side.

* * *

Pacifica sat in her chair by the fireplace, a fresh cup of coffee in her grasp. She waited quietly as the two girls who came into her home cleaned themselves up. She replayed the last sentence the older girl said in her mind, trying to let the fact sink in. There were no other possibilities, she knew the passcode, she knew the reason, and after close inspection of the sisters, Pacifica began to note how similar they looked to herself!

Taking a long sip of the brew, the blonde heard steps moving towards her, and she turned to face them. The pair had washed up, and left the heavy coats in the back room before sitting awkwardly on the sofa beside their mother's chair.

"So? Do you want to start explaining or will I ask the questions?" Pacifica proposed.

Aura looked to Gina. While she had taken the lead over the last few minutes, Gina was the one who convinced her to time travel, and thus; was the person to do the explaining.

"Well, we came for the future," Aura began; "Well, not _the_ future, but _a_ future."

Pacifica was quiet while Aura did her best to explain how the pair come back to this Pacifica's present time, due to another future interfering with the odds of progression. For the most part, Pacifica didn't see why it was necessary to get herself involved in such matters, and then Gina finally filled in the details about Chronos and the boy who dissolved on the street corner.

"So, what you're saying is that if Dipper, er…your father doesn't choose me as his girlfriend before Summer's end, he'll end up with somebody else?" the startled blonde asked. The pair nodded together.

"This is the key time for many futures relating to Dad. He could end up with many possible people or nobody, condemning all futures where children are involved. As to why Chronos is here instead of the usual time paradox prevention squad, that's anyone's guess," Gina concluded.

Pacifica's mind raced with plans and possibilities. Since it was obvious there two were time travellers, she would accept their advice and in turn help them. Aura mentioned that they couldn't reveal much more information other than hints, as Chronos would arrive to punish those who break the rules.

The last piece of information that Pacifica was given won her over into working with her future daughters. She was informed of Pippy, another time traveller from an alternate future, who based on description had an uncanny resemblance to a certain red-haired lumberjill who lived in Gravity Falls. "You won't win this Corduroy, mark my words."

* * *

"You're…serious?" Wendy asked flabbergasted, "your name is Pippy Pines, from the future where Dipper and I are married?"

The younger red-head nodded, her eyes puffy from crying. Wendy leaned back in a desk chair, gazing into the ceiling, then back to the girl on Mabel's bed. She was having a hard time believing what she had been told, but the truth was staring her in the face. A young version of herself with hazel eyes exactly like Mabel, sat not three feet away.

Getting over that part of the reality was easier than comprehending the rest of the story, with the time travel device, Pippy's plans to get her and Dipper together, the children from other futures as a result of Dipper's choices. But the real head splitter was this 'Chronos' who seems to lead the time travelling teenagers in the laws of spacetime.

"So, what now?" the lumberjill asked. She'd been given all this knowledge, but didn't have a clue as to the purpose of it all.

"I know it's a big ask, but do you think you could try and get together with Dad? If that happens, I think my chance at existence is pretty safe. I mean, sure if you get the timing wrong, you get a totally different child…god damn it. This was a huge mistake. I'm so bloody stupid to have even considered time travel," Pippy said growing aggravated at herself.

Wendy sighed and stood up; "Alright, I'll hang out with Dipper under the intentions that something may happen and down the line we…" she grew red at the though and shook it off. "Okay, just one last thing: why can't Dipper know?"

"That was a rule by Chronos, 'no direct interference with the father' and he took any powerful tech we had." She lay back down on the bed, exhaustion setting in once more. She'd tried her best, and now it was up to Wendy to press the attack. Drifting back to sleep, she was oblivious to Wendy covering her up and leaving the room.

"Rash enough to jump through time and only figure out the consequences on the way, that's part is mine. Humble enough to ask for help and stay driver until the end, that's Dipper all right," the red-head smirked as she returned to her own bed. Perhaps it wouldn't be that bad after all, guess I'll try my best as well."

Meanwhile, in the sitting room, Dipper lay still in the chair, his mind deep in the dreamscape. After the events surrounding Bill Cipher all those years ago, he and his friend discovered how easy it was to enter the realm as they slept, often enjoying the control over their own dreams. Yet tonight, the young man found himself in library so grand, it made Gravity Falls look like a drop of water in a barrel.

"Strange, I didn't want this, so why am I here?" Dipper though as he passed tower after tower of bound tomes.

"Because you and I need to chat somewhere the council can't interfere," came a voice from behind Dipper, "After all, who is to say what's real, and what's just a dream?"

Dipper turned to find the way he came wasn't there, but instead a study like room, surrounded by more book shelves with a small table in the centre. Sitting in at it was a figure in a long white robe, their hands hidden by white gloves, and their face concealed behind a blank mask. Dipper stared for a moment, the mask was entirely reflective as he could see himself, but as he moved about, it showed only darkness; no books, no library.

Deciding there was no other option, the youth sat down opposite the figure and crossed his arms.

"So, what's the deal? You don't feel like a demon, and you clearly aren't a spirit," Dipper analysed aloud.

"Correct, but I am not here to answer questions. Rather I have something to show you, and it is you who must decide what course of action to take from that moment onward," the figure spoke. Raising their hand, a single book levitated off a shelf and glided into their grasp. Carefully they placed it in front of Dipper and rested their hands back in front of them.

The figure remained motionless as Dipper took the book and opened it. Inside was blank, but slowly images began to form, though unclear. He thought he could make out himself standing next to Wendy, as the both smiled and laughed happily. Clearly a joyous occasion.

Suddenly the page went blank again, this time images of Pacifica smiling warmly at Dipper through the pages. He's never seen her so happy before and wondered why these images were being shown to him.

Once again, the pages went blank and a new shape began to form. It was…Tambry? She sat on a sofa, her eyes closed and her abdomen greatly expanded. She was pregnant! Dipper thought of herself and Robbie having a child together, and how good parents they would be once they got serious, but that thought was knocked loose when the pages turned black one after another. Quickly each page started flicking past each other, the image shown becoming like an old film as each frame whizzed by Dipper's eyes.

A man in a black coat, wearing torn pants and nothing else stood in the centre of the forest. He turned his gaze to Dipper; an empty soulless gaze. There was nothing inside this being, not love nor hate. Then it started walking towards Dipper, and all around him the world turned to ash as matter dissolved leaving only a void behind him. As he grew closer Dipper felt his heart race in fear, and suddenly dropped to book which flipped its cover closed, the ashen colour draining away like a mirage.

"Ok, I didn't need that in my life, care to explain?" Dipper asked, recovering from the fright.

The masked figure waved their hand again making the tome return in front of them. Standing tall, they spread their arms, causing the small room to dissipate into pages, revealing the library once more. Then more books began to fly towards the pair. They began forming a long staircase to the heavens, which the masked figure began to scale. Dipper followed suit.

"What are you trying to tell me? I don't understand. What did those pages mean, and who was that guy in black?" he asked.

"Every page, a different story. Every book, a possible lifetime. But they don't want it to expand. They have a set end they wish to keep. And now, I cannot standby any longer," the robed figure spoke, and pointed back down the stairs of tomes to reveal each one disintegrating to ash. "You have a set destiny, Mason. It is a great one, but ultimately corrupt. You will never understand, but you must keep an open mind. Nothing unknown is set, or should ever be." As these last words were said, the step Dipper was on turned to ash, hurtling him towards the floor far below.

Awaking with a jolt, Dipper leapt out of recliner panting. Wobbling into the bathroom he splashed water on his face. Whatever talked to him in the dreamscape was serious. It was no demon or spirit, but it was very powerful and not to be shrugged off. Checking the clock in the kitchen, he noticed it was nearly 11am! Moving to his room, he knocked on the door awaiting an answer. Nothing. Opening the room, there was no sign of Wendy, only a note on the dresser.

'Gone to drop your visitor back to their family. Travelling the states for the Summer and took a wrong turn into Gravity Falls! Back soon, then maybe we can do something for the day? Wendy, X.'

Dipper placed the note down and pulled clean clothes from his closet. With his pants half on, he froze. Darting back to the dresser he grabbed the note. "Wendy, X."

"X, like kiss? Nah, you're overthinking again man. She told you for certain years ago that…" he thought to himself, stopping dead. "Nothing is certain, keep an open mind," the voice in his dreams whispered in his mind. "You know what, let's leave it up in the air, maybe it means something maybe it doesn't."

All the while Dipper prepared for the day, Wendy and Pippy sat in Greasy's Diner, discussing plans to ensure Pippy wasn't forgotten in time. A chime over the door drew the red-heads' attention as Pacifica, Aura and Gina arrived. The gaze of the two older girls met, and the blondes made straight for their table.

Chronos, stood outside the window to the diner, watching the conflict about to ensue. "Time to finally intervene. Not like we have much time left to change things for good."

 **So another chapter down, a couple more to go. Only a few people seem to have taken an interest in this story, so I'm spending longer getting chapters out, so they are better for said die-hard followers. Over the next few weeks, all going well, I may even be able to complete this story and start another. Until then, enjoy, review and PM any ideas you have either about this story, or future stories you may want me to make (No NSFW, too hard; yes that was a pun.)**


	5. Time to Forget (Finale)

Pacifica made straight for Wendy and Pippy, ready to confront the lumberjill about how she loved Dipper and now she had a reason to fight for him but was thrown off momentarily at the sound of a plate breaking against the floor. This was all it took. That brief second where everyone looked the same way allowed Chronos to move into place.

Regaining her thoughts, the blonde took the last few paces towards Wendy, who looked up at her in both concern and a ready, defensive stare.

"Listen here Corduroy, I've got something to tell you and you're…who's this?" Pacifica spoke looking to the seat across the table from Wendy and Pippy. When Aura and Gina took hold of the back of Pacifica's shirt, and the short haired red-head grasped Wendy's arm, both future parents had a good idea who the person was.

"Good morning ladies, hope you don't mind if I take up some of your time?" Chronos asked, arms folded and leaning back in the booth. As the group looked around, they realized that their time wasn't exactly being used up. Around the diner, everyone other than themselves had been frozen in place.

"We need to have another chat," Chronos began. "I haven't been entirely truthful to you all. Do any of you know of the 'Divergent Temporal Relativity Theory?'"

Pacifica nervously spoke up to the surprise of Aura and Gina. "It states that every possible choice made or not made creates an entirely new timeline or multiple timelines, technically making infinite realities, each capable of creating further infinite realities."

"Very good, someone who's done their homework. What I originally told you about the winner having their future guaranteed was not a lie, nor the whole truth," the time guardian explained. "The reason you two are here," he said pointing to the blonde girls," is because of this one's inference," he pointed to Pippy. "But, why are you here?" he asked the red-head.

"B-because Dad was working on a device that could alter spacetime, and straight after he got it working, I started noticing problems; memories were being forgotten, places I'd lived beside for years weren't there anymore, they just were vanishing into nothing."

Pippy stood up and fiddled with her belt, suddenly dropping her jeans. The initial shock was replaced with horror as where there should have been flesh and bone was compact sand and ash, held together by some unseen force: and it was spreading.

To Pacifica's dismay, Aura and Gina started to open their shirts to reveal similar phenomena around their ribs and sides running down their backs.

"What in the name of God is happening!?" the blonde asked, barely able to brace the shock.

"It is the work of Flux," Chronos said solemnly. "He's like me, only he doesn't fix time, he purges it. I don't even know if it's right to call him a: " _he"_ anymore, more like a twisted force using Flux like a shell to protect itself."

Wendy stared at the oddly dressed man and asked straight and simple: "What's the part you aren't telling us?" Pacifica, jumping in line, glared at the man expecting a decent answer.

"The reason all this began is that the 'Sand Men' set the timelines to a set future. They alter the past to ensure their future always come about, and they use Flux to do it. There are others like me, who serve the Sand Men in turn for their powers and guaranteed life, but some of us have had enough. Time shouldn't be mutilated as it has, and now it is time to stop the destruction of alternate futures." After this, the room fell silent. Chronos was never the bad guy, just a piece in the game these 'Sand Men' played.

Speaking up again, Chronos added the last key piece of information everyone needed; "The reason all of you are involved is because; any child of Dipper Pines had the high probability of breaking the cycle, but Flux has erased everyone many times over before such an outcome could happen."

"Wait, so we are destined to die anyway?" Gina asked, stress and anger in her voice, matched the shaking in her arms and clenched fists.

"No, because this time you'll have help," Chronos answered with a grin.

Suddenly several rifts of different colours opened around the frozen diner. Out of each stepped a different character in different coloured clothes of great ornamentation and quality.

The energy in the open room could be felt down to one's bones and the time travellers received waves and nods from some incredibly powerful beings, willing to help stabilize their futures.

"So, what's the plan?" Pippy asked. All eyes turned to Chronos who was reaching over the back of his seat to take the coffee of the frozen woman behind him.

"Hm? Oh! I was hoping you guys had one," he replied sipping the brew. Thirteen pairs of eyes glared in disbelief at the time guardian. With a chuckle, he waved his hand and reached into his pockets. Carefully he pulled out five vials of sand; "In these vials is our shot at taking out Flux long enough to stabilize time for good. Each holds an equal moment from the first erased timeline to the most recent. It will draw him out like blood draws sharks."

"Chronos…how did you get those?" asked one of the other guardians, great concern evident in their tone.

"Because I was there when these events happened," he answered, obviously repressing painful memories, indicated through the wincing in his left eye.

Speaking no more of the topic he stood up and jumped over the back of the seat. He looked up at the clock on the diner wall as if it were moving before turning back to his accomplices.

"Not long now, Flux is coming for you."

* * *

Dipper had been browsing some magazines while waiting for Wendy to return when he got a queasy feeling. As he moved to get some water he looked out the window onto a monochrome land. Time had stopped!

* * *

"What the…oh no," Dipper ran back into the sitting room and pulled open a few drawers by the coffee table. Inside was several rainbow bracelets and a medium sized wad of unicorn hair. The youth thanked his stars that all those years ago his twin and her friends went out and brawled with those arrogant creatures. Over the years the amount of magical hair had shrunk, yet there was still plenty to use.

Quickly wrapping a band around each wrist he prepared to leave the shack. Just before leaving the youth reached into the umbrella holder by the door and removed a pristine walking cane, twisting the top to confirm a crystalline blade within. Content with his rushed preparations, Dipper opened the door and ran for the town.

Wendy and Pacifica stood outside the eatery with their daughters, watching the group of time travellers laying down symbols in the middle of the road. There was a slight unease in the air as the faint sound of ticking could be heard, despite the universe being frozen.

"Right, now that that's ready, we just have to make sure Flux ends up in the middle of it for this to work," Chronos said, his arms crossed as he watched his fellow agents spread out through the area, as not to be too close to the trap.

"So how long until Flux comes?" asked Pippy.

"Any moment now," her oddly dressed ally replied pointing to the sky.

As each head turned upward, a heart dropping sight was beheld; a large swirling hold sat above the town of Gravity Falls, like a giant inverted quicksand pit. Then it was heard; the ticking had finally reached near-deafening volume before it stopped completely. And then a single chime of a grandfather clock bellowed forth from the void, and Chronos yelled for the girls to get back.

From the swirling vortex, a tower of black sand and ash dropped like a waterfall near the end of the street. When the dust cleared and sand settled, each could see the figure wrapped in black bonds, like an Egyptian mummy that had been burnt.

The terrifying figure raised a single finger and a brooding voice sounded in the minds of all present; "Them~~~, the…forebidden." Flux rose its head; completely bound with a thin line exposing two red orbs where its eyes should have been.

Immediately the foe burst into ash and appeared several steps from his initial position, then again, and again, rapidly gaining ground towards the time travellers. Before the girls could react various blasts of sand few towards Flux, causing him to turn his attention to the other keepers.

"Betrayers~~~. Purge~~~." The voice held the same menacing tone. Flux truly was void of emotion, an empty shell the Sandmen used for their own selfishness. Before their eyes, the daughters of Dipper Pines watched something that they could only imagine in the stories their father told them. Flux shot off the ground leaving a trail of ash and black smoke, rocketing towards the purple guardian, and slamming her into the air only to be hammered down by a downpour of Flux's powers. Before the haze could clear, the monster burst towards the downed woman only stopping briefly as a fuzed sand boulder collided with him. A white guardian was trying to move her ally while Flux as dazed, but it wasn't long enough as a giant ashen claw burst from the ground aimed right at the pair.

"Watch out!" Aura yelled out, causing the assault to pause. An eerie silence waved as the assassin turned slowly towards her, seeming to remember its primary objective. With a wave the giant claw turning into a vortex, separating the pair of guardians from the rest. Holding out both hands, two dark vortexes formed briefly before the black-clad beast thrust them towards the group of girls. A pillar of ash morphed into a charging snake, mouth gaping to swallow its prey.

Suddenly two bolts of lightning; red and blue crashed down onto the serpent causing a detonation of glass as the ash superheated. Two more guardians stood protecting the mortals from Flux's attack. Of all who were present, Wendy was the most fearful. Everything they had ever faced could be predictable, even Bill Cipher could grow angry and sloppy, but the creature before them remained as emotionless as it was in the beginning, and there was nothing natural about that.

"What the…is that…Dad?" Gina asked pointing to the sky. As the group looked up incoming from behind Flux was Dipper…riding a wyvern! "No…way."

True to the statement, Dipper came soaring down to the battle looking somewhat unorthodox as the only way to have his wyvern friend assist him, was to fashion a collar from unicorn hair, which made for quite the puzzling entrance.

"What in the hell is going on!?" the youth called out as he flew over Flux to Wendy and Pacifica.

"It's better if you don't know!" Wendy yelled back, receiving confused looks from the others. "Oh you know why we cant tell him, Chronos said so!" A murmur of agreement and nodded occurred right before Dipper landed behind them and unmounted the large reptile.

The gang ran over to Dipper, trying to explain what was happening without giving away the part where his children were the cause of it all. While the sound of sand grains slamming together at high velocity raged on between Flux and three guardians, Chronos stepped into the conversation.

"Dipper Pines, I'm sorry about this, but you mustn't interfere, please stand aside and believe in us; we cant let Flux use you a leverage," the oddly dressed figure explained.

A sudden silence followed by a sickening * _ **crack**_ * echoed through the street, and each turned to see the monster in bandages holding two guardians by the hair; it had pounded their heads together so hard that sand was pouring out of the cracks in their heads.

"Too~~~. Long~~~. Finish~~~," the assassin's voice rung through Dipper's mind. Out of rift in the sky, another torrent of ash and smoke fell onto Flux; which when cleared made Dipper's blood run cold. It was him, the figure from his dream, the burnt mummy now wore the black coat and torn pants, with the exact same blank face from the dream.

"Now, now we have to end it," Chronos stated and grabbed the three daughters before transporting in a flash of green lightning. Reforming in the large circle of markings, Chronos gave each a vial of sand and sent them to three corners while he stood in the middle, holding the last two vials in each hand. "Open them!"

The girls did as instructed, which Dipper could see immediately drew the attention of the dark figure. Unlike the other short burst movements, Flux now transported directly to the edge of the symbols.

"Yeah, you can't resist these can you?" Chronos taunted Flux and smirked as the monster. "Pour out the vials…and run."

The girls did as instructed and regrouped to watch Flux close in on Chronos. The suspense rose beyond belief as the whole town began to tremor as Flux entered the symbol on the ground. Dipper, Wendy, and Pacifica all watched unspeaking as the coloured time guardians appeared around Flux and Chronos, channelling as much energy as they could into the ritual.

As waves of coloured sand created a vortex around the pair, the group could only watch as the ash and smoke around Flux began to crack and chip, causing the creature to spasm and jerk violently as parts of his body began to dissolve and reform continuously. After only a minute, the drain was too much for the guardians who began to falter and weaken which let shots of Flux's excess power erupt out in random directions. Pacifica, Wendy and the girls, were hunched with their hands in front of their eyes trying not to be blinded by the sandstorm that grew more chaotic by the second.

"Now; time to set things straight, all of us," Chronos let out a calm breath, and emptied one vial of sand on himself and throwing the other into Flux's eyes. A horrific human cry screamed through all of time itself, and lightning fell from the sky forcing Dipper to move his friends away from the danger, only to be knocked back by a stray blast of sand. The result was him falling unconscious as his head whacked against a wall.

Everyone could feel it, the end of the battle, but what would happen was anyone's guess. Wendy and Pacifica each grabbed one of Dipper's arms and pulled him back, listening to a loud screech from behind as the wyvern the youth rode earlier using its vast wings to shield them from stray sand attacks.

Bracing for the finale, the girls looked on, shocked by what they saw: Flux's skin was chipping away like an eggshell, and so was Chronos. A single bolt of white lightning shot down from the centre of the void in the sky, striking right between the two before all the remaining guardians fled back to their own coloured rifts. Deafening silence rang through the streets, so much so that each could hear their own heart.

A gasp from Pippy drew the attention of the others as the scene before them played out; all the shadows had burnt away from Flux, who knelt on the street…only it wasn't the monster they first saw. A middle-aged man with the Big Dipper constellation on his head looked around, confused and weary. But before a mouth could be opened, Chronos took off his large sunglasses and shook his head, causing a mass of sand to fall to the earth. Glancing back at the group he laughed lightly at Dipper unconscious and returned his attention to the older man on the ground.

"Don't! That's our Dad!" called out the trio of time travellers, as they ran towards the pair, leaving their mothers with the unconscious Dipper. Chronos helped the elder to his feet before turning to the girls one last time.

"Don't worry, it'll be okay… _WE_ , will be okay," he said lifting his own hair up to reveal the same constellation birthmark. "All of you, say goodbye to your time here, with Flux gone I can feel the time stream flowing free again. You each have your own respective future to return to, with your own families. I'll give you one minute to say goodbye before we I wipe the memories of all in this time, to prevent further damage to time."

The trio looked at each other briefly, tears appearing in their eyes, each knowing what the other was thinking.

"Just take us now, please, Dad," Pippy asked.

"Saying goodbye isn't my strong suit," murmured Gina, squeezing her sister's hand.

With a soft nod, the former Chronos held out his hand to the girls and watched as each turned to a mass of sand, floating up into the time void which slowly began closing. He did the same to the old Flux, who looked at peace as he dissolved away.

Lastly, Chronos looked at Wendy and Pacifica kneeling beside his unconscious younger self, tears dropping to the ground as they watched their daughters vanish. "I should never have made that stupid device, it caused nothing be eternities of suffering," he thought to himself; and with a deep breath spread his arms, and swung them together with a clap that caused a blinding white light.

* * *

Dipper woke up in bed, yawned and scratched himself lightly. Mabel was still out of town with her friends, which meant he had to cook his own breakfast. Throwing on his clothes for the day, he stumbled sleepily down the stairs and began to get to work in the kitchen when a sudden knock came to the door. Opening it he was met with a shy grin from the ex-millionaire of Gravity Falls.

"Mind if I join you for breakfast, you haven't eaten yet?" Pacifica asked.

"Eh, no, just starting actually. What can I get you?" Dipper answered, pleasantly surprised at the visit; it felt like ages since he'd had company, even though he'd been out the other night with her, and Wendy before that again. Upon that thought, another knock on the back door of the shack.

"Hey Dork! You home?" the oldest Corduroy called out.

"YEAH!" he yelled back joyously from inside, before opening unlocking the other door. "Are you here for breakfast as well, eh?"

The puzzled look on the lumberjill's face was resolved upon seeing Pacifica behind Dipper.

"I'll grab another plate," the blonde announced as Dipper beckoned in the red-head.

It had been a pretty good start to his break; any worries he had about his breakup earlier in the year were dashed by the company of his good friends. "So far so good, I wonder if I can go another few weeks without something supernatural happening," the youth thought to himself smiling. All of them blissfully ignorant of the events surrounding Chronos, Flux, and the time travellers.

* * *

 **And that't the end of this, sorry it took so long to turn out the last chapter, life can be relentless supplying free time and inspiration at the same time. I hope those of you read this found it mildly clever in its result. keeping the story paradox free is what took the most time, and I think I managed not to counter my own words...but I suppose as long as the story was clever is all that matters.**

 **For anyone who's interested in a better, fuller story; check out my other work (which also has reference to more quality stories! It just gets better and better!)**

 **Anyway, special thanks to Geekngroom and FullMetalKhaos for support after all this time.**


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